Our Guide to Paris: Du Pain et Des Idées

Christophe Vasseur’s breads and pastries, sold from a beautiful shop filled with 19th century decorations, are worth crossing town for. Stroll along the nearby Canal while nibbling a sack of niflettes or one of his juicy, not-too-sweet chausson aux pommes. His pain des amis (friendship bread) fills the basket at some of the city’s trendiest tables, including Frenchie, Saturne and Le Chateaubriand, and his baguette was selected by our contributors as one of Five Great Baguettes in Paris.

Practical information

Address: 34 rue Yves Toudic, 75010
Nearest transport: Jacques Bonsergent (5)
Hours: Monday-Friday 6:45am-8pm; Closed Saturday, Closed Sunday
Telephone: 01 42 40 44 52
Website

Trusted reviews

• Food Intelligence (2011) A video from Bruno Verjus profiling Vasseur’s products & philosophy.
• Gilles Pudlowski (2011) “…il y aussi le pain au blé, celui au seigle ou aux châtaignes, issus de levain. Plus les jolies viennoiseries: pain au raisin, chausson aux pommes fraîches, palmier croustillant ou encore crumbles et – tartelettes aux fruits. Bref, une belle demeure avec son artisan hors norme…”
• Barbra Austin (2010) “Formed by hand and given a slow rise, these are loaves with character…”
• Croque-Camille (2010) “Yes, I’ve already written about Du Pain et des Idées, but that was before I became a regular…It is safe to say that I have by now sampled all their products…”
• Meg Zimbeck for Budget Travel (2009) “Vasseur’s wildly popular pain des amis (friendship bread) makes me want to move to the neighborhood. Light but chewy, with a nutty fragrance and deliciously charred bottom—it’s one of the best I’ve ever tried.”
• David Lebovitz (2008) “One of my absolute favorite bakeries in Paris…”
• Clotilde Dusoulier (2008) Recommended in Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris.